Our Experts
Erwin Blackstone
Anne Danehy
Larry Darby
Joseph DeLisi
Joseph Fuhr
Bruce Hahn
Len Merewitz
Stephen Pociask
Richard G. Stefanacci
Mitch Wilk
Dr. Blackstone has taught economics for over thirty-five years. Prior to coming to Temple in 1976, Dr. Blackstone taught at Dartmouth College and Cornell University. His research areas and publications include the Economics of Industrial Organization, Health Economics, and Privatization. He has published on a variety of antitrust topics including mergers, dominance, reciprocal buying, collusion and damages. His publications include over forty articles in major economics and public policy journals, chapters in books, an edited book, a monograph on private policing, and a book on the electronic security industry. Dr. Blackstone has taught courses from the introductory to the Ph.D. level. He was given in 1976 the Clark Award for distinguished teaching at Cornell and at Temple, the Andrisani-Frank Award for Excellence in teaching in 2001, and the Musser Excellence in Leadership Award for teaching in 2006.
Professor Blackstone has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He can be reached at erwin.blackstone@temple.edu.
As President of Strategic Opinion Research, Ms. Danehy brings more than 15 years of experience in designing, conducting and analyzing public opinion research both nationally and internationally for use in developing and evaluating public policy programs and public relations. She has conducted research involving various demographic segments, including teenagers, low-income residents, mentally ill patients and non-English speaking populations. Over the years, her research has covered medical, public health and safety issues. On the political front, she has conducted numerous political polls for candidates. She is also actively involved in community education issues.
Ms. Danehy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Smith College and a Master of Arts degree in Public Opinion Research from the University of Connecticut. Ms. Danehy is a lecturer at Boston University’s College of Communication. Prior to her current assignment, she served as Vice President at Bannon Research and Director of Research at the Rendon Group, Inc., where she was involved in survey and focus group research.
Ms. Danehy can be reach at adanehy@rcn.com.
Dr. Darby is president and founder Darby Associates, Communications Consultants in Washington DC. He advises a broad spectrum of clients on issues in broadcasting, cable television, domestic and foreign telephony, trade and technology, and domestic common carrier regulation.
He is Professorial Lecturer in Telecommunications Finance at the George Washington University Graduate School and Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York Law School. Dr. Darby has testified before Congress on wireless spectrum; airline passenger services; deregulation of telecom markets, trade agreements, and postal rate structures. He is Senior Economic Advisor to CompassRose International, Inc, where he is an advisor to foreign governments, startups and others in the IT space.
Prior to this, he was Vice-President for Lehman Brothers, spent two years on Capitol Hill as the Executive Director of the Motor Carrier Ratemaking Study Commission, served as Chief Economist and Chief of the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau and served as Senior Economist of Telecommunications Policy in the White House Office. He also taught managerial economics, industrial economics, and the regulation of business for the Graduate School of Business at Temple University.
He earned a doctorate in economics from Indiana University in 1971, specializing in industrial organization and international economics. Dr. Darby can be reached at Darby@theamericanconsumer.org.
Joseph DeLisi is with Chartwell Financial Group where he is an expert in personal financial economics and analysis. His many years in finance have been spent developing strategies that help families, business owners, professional athletes and other consumers win the financial game of life. He has spent his entire professional career in the financial advising industry helping consumers – individuals and families – focus on protection and long-term wealth strategies. His experiences in advising and consulting provide him an ideal skill set to analyze various financial situations, identify areas of potential improvement, and financially engineer processes, which can create significant additional wealth for consumers. Most importantly, his goal is to help individuals and families achieve their desires and dreams with no additional out-of-pocket outlay. Click here for his newsletters on personal finance.
Joseph graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Communication. Joseph DeLisi is a frequent public speaker on the topic of personal finance in the Washington DC area. You can contact Joseph by email at Joseph.Delisi@chartwellfg.com.
Dr. Fuhr is a Professor of Economics at Widener University. Dr. Fuhr received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Temple University and his B.A. from LaSalle University. His primary research areas are antitrust, health economics, pharmacoeconomics, telecommunications, and sports economics.
He has published over forty journal articles. In the field of telecommunications, he has written on investment and innovation, rural telephony, terminal equipment and universal service. In health care, he has written on hospital mergers, exclusive arrangements, health insurance, bundling and doctor’s fees. In pharmacoeconomics, he has written on cost benefit analysis and predictive modeling. In sports economics, Dr. Fuhr has written on the economics of baseball and football.
Professor Fuhr has been an expert witness on antitrust matters related to health economics and has worked on various consulting projects. He is an economic consultant for the Department of Health Policy and Outcomes Research at Thomas Jefferson University and affiliated with Darby Associates and Econsult.
Dr. Fuhr can be reached at jpfuhr@widener.edu or (610) 499-1172.
Bruce N. Hahn, CAE is the President of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance (AHGA) and the President of the American Homeowners Foundation (AHF). Mr. Hahn has more than twenty-five years experience with national trade associations, consumer advocacy organizations, and educational foundations. Over the years, he served with the Computing Technology Industry Association and as Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers, where he was in charge of grassroots efforts. He is a member of the government relations committee of the Consumer Federation of America and past Chairman of the Small Business Legislative Council. He is the former President and Chairman of the American Marketing Association’s Washington, DC chapter. Mr. Hahn also managed the Government and Public Affairs Department at the National Tooling and Machining Association, where he created and developed the nation’s 14th largest trade association political action committee. Previously he held public policy and marketing positions at the American Footwear Industries Association and the American Textile Machinery Association. Mr. Hahn was a founder, Ethics Committee Chairman, and the author of the first code of ethics of the American League of Lobbyists. Mr. Hahn serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Affairs Council, the American Society of Association Executives Government Affairs Committee, and several committees of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is the author of four books and numerous publications. Among them are Winning at Public Affairs, a training text for public affairs staff, distributed by the American Society of Association Executives and the National Association of Manufacturers. He has graduate and undergraduate degrees in management and marketing.
Dr. Merewitz is president of LAMA Consulting, an economic consulting firm specializing in postal matters, transportation, regulation and public policies. He has testified on cost analysis of public utilities before state commissions and the U.S. Postal Rate Commission.
His forty years of experience includes seven years as a special assistant for the U.S. Postal Rate Commission, seven more years as General Manager and Member Postal Career Executive Service for the United States Postal Service. Dr. Merewitz was a senior economist for the National Transportation Economic Counsel, Director of Transportation Studies for J.W. Wilson and Associates, and Senior Economist for the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association. He was an Assistant Professor at Schools of Business Administration at UC Berkeley, and provided consulting services for Institute for Defense Analyses and the RAND Corporation. His book, The Budget’s New Clothes (Rand McNally) has had eight printings. Dr. Merewitz earned a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Harvard and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Merewitz provides nonprofits and other organizations with tips on saving up to 20 percent on high electricity and natural gas bills. Click here for more information.
Dr. Merewitz can be reached at merewitz@post.harvard.edu.
For over twenty-five years, Mr. Pociask has been involved in consumer public policy research. He has published numerous economic studies, including three books for the Economic Policy Institute, and policy studies for numerous independent nonprofit organizations. Many of his research studies have focused the consequences of public policies on consumer welfare. He has extensive experience in various policy issues, including energy, insurance, consumer products, information technology and healthcare. He has conducted surveys of consumer opinion covering a wide variety of public policy issues. He has participated as a consumer advocacy representative for policymaker organizations.
He has also written reports for the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, including one on small businesses’ telecommunications expenditures and use, and one on broadband use in rural America. He has testified before Congress. He has appeared numerous times in the media, including Bloomberg News, CNBC, NBC, FOX, Congressional Quarterly, New York Times, and CNET Radio.
From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Pociask served as chief economist and executive vice president for Joel Popkin and Co., an economic consulting firm in Washington, DC. He has completed his Ph.D. coursework in economics and has an M.A. in economics from George Mason University.
Mr. Pociask can be reached at (703) 471-3954 or Steve@theamericanconsumer.org
As the Founding Executive Director of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia’s Health Policy Institute, Dr. Stefanacci is building upon his recently completed work as Health Policy Scholar at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). At CMS he spent a year working on the policy and implementation of the Medicare Part D Pharmacy Benefit, especially regarding access issues for frail elderly. He holds two Master’s degrees — one in Geriatric Health as well as Business Administration. He is board certified in Quality Assurance and Utilization as well as being a Certified Medical Director (CMD). Recently he achieved recognition as a fellow in both the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and AGS as well as becoming an honorary lifetime member of ASCP. In addition to writing and lecturing extensively, he serves as editor-in-chief of the Assisted Living Consult and Medicare Patient Management as well as serving on the editorial boards of Caring for the Ages, Consultant Pharmacist, LTC Interface, Managed Care, and Jefferson’s Health Policy newsletter. Based on his experience and the expertise within the University of the Sciences as the oldest College of Pharmacy, the Health Policy Institute has focused on pharmaceutical related issues. You can email Dr. Stefanacci at r.stefan@usip.edu.
Mr. Mitch Wilk is the Managing Director of the Economics & Policy practice group of LECG, and founder the public policy research and consulting firm Wilk & Associates.
Prior this this, he served as Commissioner and President of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). He was appointed by the Chairman of the FCC to serve on the six member Conference Committee to oversee the implementation of a key initiative to encourage industry competition.
Prior to his appointment to the CPUC, Mr. Wilk was Deputy Legislative Secretary, and later, Deputy Chief of Staff to California Governor George Deukmejian. He served on a select Advisory Panel to the California State Senate Committee on Energy and Public Utilities to develop recommendations for CPUC reform and reorganization. During the 2001 California electricity crisis, Mr. Wilk joined other experts to co-author two widely published Manifestos on the crisis under the auspices of the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley. He is on the Academic Advisory Board of the Progress & Freedom Foundation’s Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, an educational forum for new regulators. His views are frequently sought by media, academic, and governmental institutions regarding current developments and trends in utilities and other regulated industries.
Mr. Wilk is an Army veteran, and earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees in finance from The American University in Washington, D.C., during which time he also served as a member of Congressional Staff.
Mr. Wilk can be reached at mwilk@lecg.com.